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Located on the Roanoke River, the town of Weldon
was one of the South’s major transportation hubs
at the beginning of the Civil War. By 1861, the
town served as an important stop for steamboats
and canal boats, and it was the junction of the
Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, Raleigh and
Gaston Railroad, Petersburg Railroad, and
Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad. Confederate
commanders readily recognized the strategic sig-nificance
of the town and its single railroad bridge
across the Roanoke River. Weldon consequently
became the headquar-ters
of the Department
of Eastern North Car-olina.
Large quantities
of war materials and
supplies were stored
in town, and extensive
fortifications were
built on both sides of
the river to protect the
railroad bridge.
Cannons similar to these, pho-tographed
at Fort Brady outside
Richmond, Va., in 1864, protected
strategically important sites
such as railroad bridges.
Courtesy Library of Congress
The Wilmington and Weldon Railroad
was the most important of the railroads that
intersected in Weldon. From Wilmington, the
South’s last open seaport, this railroad became
an increasingly vital supply corridor for the
Army of Northern Virginia during the last years
of the war. After blockade runners slipped into
Wilmington, their cargoes were transported by
rail through Weldon to the besieged Confeder-ates
in Petersburg, Virginia. Recognizing the
vital importance of this route, Gen. Robert E.
Lee called it “the Lifeline of the Confederacy.”
Despite the bridge’s
importance as a Fed-eral
military objec-tive,
it survived the
war unscathed.
WILMINGTON & WELDON RR TRESTLE
★ ★ ★
Lee’s Lifeline
C O N F E D E R A T E L I F E L I N E
These locomotives, typical of
the period, were photographed
in 1864 at City Point, Va.
Courtesy Library of Congress
“Should Col. Sumner succeed in reaching the Weldon (Rail) Road, he
will be instructed to do all the damage possible …. It might be practi-cable
to destroy any accumulation of supplies the enemy may have col-lected
south of the Roanoke.” – Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, March 27, 1865
Fortifications protected Weldon’s
railroads; 6 training camps were
located here, and 13 in Garysburg.
Weldon

Located on the Roanoke River, the town of Weldon
was one of the South’s major transportation hubs
at the beginning of the Civil War. By 1861, the
town served as an important stop for steamboats
and canal boats, and it was the junction of the
Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, Raleigh and
Gaston Railroad, Petersburg Railroad, and
Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad. Confederate
commanders readily recognized the strategic sig-nificance
of the town and its single railroad bridge
across the Roanoke River. Weldon consequently
became the headquar-ters
of the Department
of Eastern North Car-olina.
Large quantities
of war materials and
supplies were stored
in town, and extensive
fortifications were
built on both sides of
the river to protect the
railroad bridge.
Cannons similar to these, pho-tographed
at Fort Brady outside
Richmond, Va., in 1864, protected
strategically important sites
such as railroad bridges.
Courtesy Library of Congress
The Wilmington and Weldon Railroad
was the most important of the railroads that
intersected in Weldon. From Wilmington, the
South’s last open seaport, this railroad became
an increasingly vital supply corridor for the
Army of Northern Virginia during the last years
of the war. After blockade runners slipped into
Wilmington, their cargoes were transported by
rail through Weldon to the besieged Confeder-ates
in Petersburg, Virginia. Recognizing the
vital importance of this route, Gen. Robert E.
Lee called it “the Lifeline of the Confederacy.”
Despite the bridge’s
importance as a Fed-eral
military objec-tive,
it survived the
war unscathed.
WILMINGTON & WELDON RR TRESTLE
★ ★ ★
Lee’s Lifeline
C O N F E D E R A T E L I F E L I N E
These locomotives, typical of
the period, were photographed
in 1864 at City Point, Va.
Courtesy Library of Congress
“Should Col. Sumner succeed in reaching the Weldon (Rail) Road, he
will be instructed to do all the damage possible …. It might be practi-cable
to destroy any accumulation of supplies the enemy may have col-lected
south of the Roanoke.” – Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, March 27, 1865
Fortifications protected Weldon’s
railroads; 6 training camps were
located here, and 13 in Garysburg.
Weldon

Located on the Roanoke River, the town of Weldon
was one of the South’s major transportation hubs
at the beginning of the Civil War. By 1861, the
town served as an important stop for steamboats
and canal boats, and it was the junction of the
Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, Raleigh and
Gaston Railroad, Petersburg Railroad, and
Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad. Confederate
commanders readily recognized the strategic sig-nificance
of the town and its single railroad bridge
across the Roanoke River. Weldon consequently
became the headquar-ters
of the Department
of Eastern North Car-olina.
Large quantities
of war materials and
supplies were stored
in town, and extensive
fortifications were
built on both sides of
the river to protect the
railroad bridge.
Cannons similar to these, pho-tographed
at Fort Brady outside
Richmond, Va., in 1864, protected
strategically important sites
such as railroad bridges.
Courtesy Library of Congress
The Wilmington and Weldon Railroad
was the most important of the railroads that
intersected in Weldon. From Wilmington, the
South’s last open seaport, this railroad became
an increasingly vital supply corridor for the
Army of Northern Virginia during the last years
of the war. After blockade runners slipped into
Wilmington, their cargoes were transported by
rail through Weldon to the besieged Confeder-ates
in Petersburg, Virginia. Recognizing the
vital importance of this route, Gen. Robert E.
Lee called it “the Lifeline of the Confederacy.”
Despite the bridge’s
importance as a Fed-eral
military objec-tive,
it survived the
war unscathed.
WILMINGTON & WELDON RR TRESTLE
★ ★ ★
Lee’s Lifeline
C O N F E D E R A T E L I F E L I N E
These locomotives, typical of
the period, were photographed
in 1864 at City Point, Va.
Courtesy Library of Congress
“Should Col. Sumner succeed in reaching the Weldon (Rail) Road, he
will be instructed to do all the damage possible …. It might be practi-cable
to destroy any accumulation of supplies the enemy may have col-lected
south of the Roanoke.” – Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, March 27, 1865
Fortifications protected Weldon’s
railroads; 6 training camps were
located here, and 13 in Garysburg.
Weldon